A Weight-Up Call

I understand it's been a while since I posted anything relating to my weight loss goals.

If you know me well, you probably can read between the lines enough to know that it's because I am not succeeding....

My last weigh in post was January something.

PEOPLE.  We are 2 days from March.

I have been completely silent about my weight loss during the month of February.

And since that last post back in January, I have lost a total of...drumroll please....

1.6 lbs.

If you, like me, are excellent at math, you know that averages out to .4 lbs per week.

And you probably know that it brings me down to here:

And for the record, I hit the 40 week mark 2 weeks ago.

It's easy for me to get frustrated.

Alot.

It's also very easy for me to get discontent.

Don't ask me how.

I am comfortably wearing a size 8 now and often able to wear a 6.

Remember this girl?

Yeah.

She doesn't look like that anymore....

That's a size 8 and a medium.

Be impressed.

So, I have decided to change my game plan.

Since, at my current rate, it would take me approximately (or exactly)  16 more weeks, or another 4 months, to lose the rest of this weight.

And I'm sure it will happen, BUT....

I have decided to change my focus.

And as it turns out, a group of my online workout buddies have dedicated themselves to doing a month of Jillian's Ripped in 30....

(They just completed 30 straight days of 30 Day Shred)

My knee-jerk reaction is, "I can't do that!  I need more cardio!"

Which is actually Leah-speak for, "I don't wanna do strength 5 days in a row!  That's too hard!"

So.

I.

Did.

It.

Or rather, I'm doing it.

This is post-day 3.

It's ridiculous.

I could barely move after day 1.

And this is still the "easy stuff".

I am still working in a half hour of cardio, post-Ripped (thus the bike pic), but I want to focus more on toning what I have.

And stop worrying about the weight side of it.

Because, truthfully, I'm at a healthy weight.

Do you know how difficult that is for me to type?

Because I am seriously OCD.

And a little goal driven.

It's not really like me to "give up" this close to my goal.

But I'd rather reduce my body fat/increase my muscle strength than lose weight.

That's just where I'm at.

How big of me, huh?

Now, who wants to join us?!

You know you do!

(Seriously, though, if you want in, Facebook me or email me, I will invite you to the group!  It's excellent for keeping you accountable!!!)

If not, that's cool, just keep watching - Transformation is happening people!

Party Fever...

Remember that month when I decided to host family from out of town, throw 2 birthday parties, and a baby shower at my house???

And on top of that, enrolled myself in a firearms safety class with my girlfriends....

It's been IN.TENSE, people.

Like more intense than Mariah and Nicki's love/hate affair.

No, seriously, people.

I am in craft overdrive.

I can no longer control myself.

I now understand how Leslie Knope feels about project binders.

WHAT.A.RUSH.

I'd love to tell you that I will blog about all of it, but my life is so backlogged.

And filled with so.much.poop.

No, literal poop.

That's reality with 2 toddlers, a dog, and a husband.

But for a glimpse at all the things you missed...

Birthday party #1...

Little Man's belated birthday party....

He turned 3 on December 28

But since it was so close to Christmas, we waited....

Until...now.

Also known as the day before Baby Girl's birthday party.

I thought it was such a smart idea.

I mean, family was here.

And his friends were in town....

But oh.my.

However, Lego brownies and Mickey Mouse ears absolutely ROCKED this kid's world.

And then, Baby Girl's 1st birthday party....

How has it already been a year???

Girlfriend was a birthday all star.

I am busy editing all the photos, but here are a (very) select few I snagged on my phone.

You can't tell it from this pic, but we went all out for this party.

And by all out, I mean CAKEPOPS.

Why has the world just now discovered cakepops?!?!

And why does it take SO LONG to make them?!!!

Something that delish should really be so much easier to acquire!

Or maybe not.

I think I gained 10 lbs in cakepops that week.

YUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMM.

But then, with just over a week to recover from Baby Girl's party, several of us girls signed up for a firearm's safety course.

Let me tell you....

If you have not done one of these, DO.IT.

(And in my case, if you have, but need a refresher, DO.IT.)

Worth every penny.

We loved it, and learned so much!

You should really be impressed with us.

And finally, this weekend will wrap up my month of crazy with a "Little Man" (not to be confused with my Little Man) inspired baby shower....

If I make it out alive, it will be a miracle.

Wish me luck!

I know it's hard to believe, but with all this craziness, I'm running on empty.

I haven't lost weight in weeks.

But I'm enjoying the crazy, if not the weight.

Because that's life!

And life is beautiful, even at it's craziest!

My Funny Valentine

Let me just be honest with you....

When you are a stay at home mommy of two and your husband is galivanting all over the state of Georgia running a company, Valentine's Day can seriously sneak up on you.

Suddenly, the day is here and you are running your dog to the vet, then the groomer, paying bills, running errands, and eventually rolling into the driveway just in time for naps....

And then back out for more.

I did have the forethought, though, to place a to-go order at Chili's....

Only to arrive in one of the most crowded parking lots in town, and realize that I still had to drag my 2 kids out of the car to go inside and pick up my food.

yay.

And then I called the groomer to see if my dog was done with his appointment.

Because, you know, his appointment was supposed to be over hours ago.

Only to have them tell me that he wasn't done and he wouldn't be for more than an hour.

So there I sat.

With my hard-won dinner that I had victoriously acquired at the hands of tyrannical toddlers and an over-crowded restaurant.

Not to mention, said fussy off-spring.

Stuck in the car.

Waiting.

That was when it hit me.

It didn't have to be miserable.

And I didn't have to just sit there and wait for the groomer to catch up with  me.

So, I called Techy and rolled out of the parking lot.

I may or may not have turned on some sappy Taylor Swift song to get me into the mood.

And made a quick left hand turn into the emptiest parking lot in town.

But, in the opinion of at least one of my passengers, the happiest place in town:

Credit

Within a few minutes, my date pulled in next to us, and we happily unloaded our crew into the play place.

Where we celebrated one of the finest Valentine's Days' I can remember....

In the flourescent glow of can lighting - after all, who can see anything in candlelight?

Our centerpiece was nothing more decorative than a ketchup packet and paper napkins....

But the food was still warm,

The company was better than I could have dreamed of,

And the crowd was non-existent.

Our Valentine's Day may not have been a classy as yours.

Or as romantic.

But it was filled with love.

And happiness.

And in my opinion, that makes it the finest Valentine's Day we've celebrated in years.

The Voice In the Dark

There are things you experience as a parent that no one warns you for.

There are feelings you feel as a parent that no one could POSSIBLY prepare you for.

And let's be honest, I've done things since being a parent that I swore would NEVER happen.

You hear about the poop.

You hear about the puke.

You hear about the laundry.

But no one has ever told me about this....

I started my day pretty normally.

I had a ton of laundry to do....

I had several errands to run....

And I had trash to take.

I threw a load of laundry in the washer before we left and then ran out the door dragging a bag of trash behind me.

When we returned several hours later, it was to some annoyingly high pitched noise coming from...

well, somewhere.

But I had more important things to do.

Like feed tiny humans.

And clean them.

And put them to bed.

And fold laundry.

And clean my house.

And the noise got louder and louder and louder.

And more annoying and more annoying, and more annoying.

And then I opened up my washing machine to find this.

Now, for the record, we've had this thing for more than a year.

I had no idea it made noises.

But since I washed it this morning, it hasn't stopped singing...

In its VERY, VERY high pitched annoying voice...tone...sound....

What exactly do you call an inanimate object's noise???

It's been almost 4 hours....

It's still singing.

I'm planning to go kill it.

If it doesn't get me first.

Wish me luck.

Hopefully you will hear from me tomorrow.

Holy crap, batman

My life is completely upside down.

In the past week, we've made 3 doctor visits between the 4 of us.

We've thrown not one, but 2 birthday parties.

We've hosted 5 visiting family members.

We've worked constantly and rested little.

My house looks like...Lindsay Lohan...

One.hot.mess.

Light on the hot, heavy on the mess.

It's been a wild week.

It's about to get wilder.

How does life do that?!

But as wild as life gets, as crazy scary as it can be, I'm blessed.

Beyond measure.

So really, if all i have to complain about is a hot mess, then, people, I'm a rich woman!

Deadlines...Deadpan...

I have severe anxiety.

That's probably what you should expect the night before a house full of relatives are scheduled to descend upon you.

And days before your baby girl's first birthday party.

And days before your 3 year old's unbirthday birthday party.

And the day before your 2011 photo book has to be sent to the printers....

And the day after you find out you have high cholesterol.

Who, you?

No!  Not me! 

Then who?

Must be...

Why would you say that?

The bloodwork WHAT?

Sorry about that.

Inner dialogue.

Yes, last night I got a call from my doctor's office....

Apparently, I have high cholesterol.

Let this be a life lesson.

You should most definitely play poker with me.

I ALWAYS get dealt the bad hands.

But I digress...

Point being, I don't have time for a book review today.

And probably nothing but whiny pants, unstructured, why-do-we-need-parties posts for the rest of the week.

Be excited.

Off-topic Leah is always so much fun.

Maybe I'll be back to normal on Monday.

That's Just The Cravings Talking...

Apparently last night was a big night in sports.

Not that I know anything about that since I was too busy chewing my nails off waiting to find out what happens to Mr. Bates to care about a football game.

That being said, I do have some regrets about my choices yesterday.

Like the food choices.

Normally, I spend my Sundays, and especially Super Bowl Sunday, binge eating as many pizza bites as possible.

But I was so nervous about the goings on of my favorite Brits that I completely forgot to eat.

Like anything.

And now, here I sit....

Chewing on my non-existent nails

And watching Ellen re-runs.

Sophia Grace and Rosie just had tea with Justin Beiber and my only thought was.

I WANT THAT COOKIE SO BAD.

Aren't Mondays bad enough without having to talk yourself out of every.single.carb in your house???

That and "Don't these kids go to school...EVER?"

If hungry Leah sometimes morphs into cranky Leah.

Craving Leah morphs into something altogether Hyde-ish.

Evil.

Mean.

Cutting.

Is it me, or does Kelly Ripa talk too much?

Is it me, or is EVERYONE on Facebook totally annoying today?

Is it me, or is all places on all the internets against me?

So, if you happen to be confronted by Craving Leah today, I apologize.

And remember, I probably didn't mean it when I asked you to shut up about the amazing plays, Beyonce's incredible moves and your favorite commercials.

That's just the unsatisfied cravings talking.